Eandall w



(No Model.) I

R. W. WALKER 8v J. L. -BEARDSLEY- THILL GOUPLING.

No. 334,494.v Patented Jan. 19, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RANDALL W. VALKER AND JAMES L. BEARDSLEY, OF OXFORD, NEW YORK.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,494-, dated January19. 1886.

Application led October $20, 1885. Serial No. 180.450. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, RANDALL W. WALKER and JAMEs L. BEARDsLEY, citizensof the United States, residing at Oxford, in the county of Ohenango andState of New York, have invented certain new-and useful ImprovementsinThill-Couplings; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to theletters and gures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l 0f the drawings is a longitudinal section of our invention.;Fig. 2, a top plan View, partly in section. Figs. 3 and 4 are detailviews in perspective of the two coupling-sections.

The present invention has relation to certain new and usefulimprovements in thillcouplings and it consists in the details ofconstruction substantially as shown in the drawings, and hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the fore' axle of a vehicle,to which is secured the inner end of a metal bar, B, by the usualclip,a, or any other preferred means.

The forward end of the bar or plate B is formed with hooks O, upon eachside thereof, which are provided with inwardly-inclined ends, b, andinclined faces c on the shanks thereof. The bottom of the plate B hasattached thereto one end of a fiat curved spring, D, said springextending around so that its free end will be located between the hooksC, and is bent on an arc of a circle to form a seat for the inner end ofthe thill-iron E, whichhas pins d to engage with the hooks.

Fitting over the plate B is a box, F, conrsisting of two sides, e,bottom f, having an open slot, g, and a rear slotted end, h, throughwhich passes the plate B. Tlie'sides of the box F have blocks G, formedwith inclined edges z k, so that the block will t nicely in the spacebetween the inclined end b and face o of the hook C, while the segmentalgroove Z will match that left to make a circular-formed eye in thecoupling sections, as shown in Fig. 1.

Ihe eyes C and box F we prefer terming the couplingsections,77 the pinsd upon the thill-iron E entering the eyes formed thereby and lockedtherein by the box, which is held stationary by akey, I. This keyisfastened to a suitable spring, H, one end thereof being held to theplate B by the same nut which secures the clip, or any other desirablemeans found most convenient, the forward end of the spring forming ahandle or thumb-plate for releasing the spring pin or key I. The key Iextends up through the open slot g in the bottom of the box F, through ahole,m, in the plate B. and projects above said plate into a groove, n,in the rear end, h, of the box, which forms a seat for the end of thekey and prevents the block from undue rattling. The key I is preferablylformed with a fiat-sided head, o, which `fits in an enlarged front oropen end of the slot g, thus preventing the key from-turning or twistingon its fasten- Ings.

Then in the position shown in Fig. l, full lines, the twocoupling-sections are in position to securely couple the thill-irou andthe key in position to lock the movable couplingsection in place.

When it is desired to uncouple and remove the thill-iron, the springconnected to the key is depressed, as shown in dotted lines, until theupper end thereof is iiush with the plate, when the movablecoupling-section can be slipped back a sufficient distance to allow thethill-iron to be removed.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a thill-coupling, the combination of a stationary anda slidingcoupling'- section,

the former consisting of hooks projecting from the forward end and sidesof a plate and having inclined faces and ends,and the latter sectionconsisting of a box with sides having blocks, slotted end and bottom,and a key for holding the section in place, substantially as IOO

